Redistricting Battle Coming in Texas

"The State is confident that the new legislative and Congressional maps comply with both the federal Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Constitution," a spokeswoman for Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said in an email.

Texas has a history of legal challenges to its maps. In 2001, a federal court redrew the lines after the Legislature failed to pass its own map. The next year, then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's (R) state allies redrew the map again.

In 2006, the Supreme Court struck down part of DeLay's map and ruled that one district violated the Voting Rights Act.

The redraw orchestrated by DeLay remains one of the most controversial redistricting cases in history. It's a situation that only amplifies the stakes this time for Texas as well as for Hispanic voters across the country.

"I can't imagine it being more politicized than the 2003 DeLay redistricting," Li said. "It's sort of a battle between the old and new Texas. It's a battle between Anglo Texas and Hispanic Texas in a lot of ways, and the emerging Hispanic majority."